Week 5

This week was quite successful I must say! Searching using the theses option gave me 20 results and a lot of useful information that I have been looking for. I searched using the following:

Leatherby libraries

Databases

Education

Theses

Searched - Transitional kindergarten (last 5 years, English)

The article I found, Beliefs of teachers and administrators regarding developmentally appropriate practices within the transitional kindergarten classroom, strengthened the concerns I already had about transitional kindergarten. To sum it all up there are some major gaps between preschool and kindergarten, mostly due to the lack of training, understanding, and being able to provide a developmentally appropriate learning environment. Teachers are confused between school readiness (more of a kindergarten environment with worksheets and academic based activities) and early childhood, pre-k (play based). Administrators are also found to be unsupportive of the play based (developmentally appropriate) approach to transitional kindergarten education, which I feel, is due to their lack of knowledge of the subject. As an advocate for early childhood education, and play, I surely hope this gap closes somewhat quickly.

Well, another frustrating week finding creditable and useful information about my topic. After searching and researching, I eventually came across an article that had a lot of interesting facts. First and foremost, what stuck with me the most this week is that not all transitional kindergarten teachers have early child development experience, education, or training. This really bothers me. Being a preschool teacher myself, I am fully aware of the different approaches, strategies, environments, and curriculum that are involved in teaching young children.  After looking into this further, I found that transitional kindergarten teachers are required to take 24 units of early child development within 5 years. Though this made me feel somewhat better, this still means that there are 5 years of teaching children without the proper education or tools to do so.

In addition, transitional kindergarten is for children who will turn 5 after September 5 but before December. This gives children who are a little younger the chance to develop in all areas before entering kindergarten. Some school districts decided to have combination classes that included transitional kindergarten and kindergarten classes.

I also reviewed the California Teaching Credential website which is where I found the following information:

TK teachers are required to have:

Teaching Credentials

24 units of Early Child Development or an Early Childhood Teacher permit

“Any current credentialed teacher who is or was assigned to teach TK, or a combination class of kindergarten and TK, on or before July 1, 2015, is “grandfathered in” to teach TK without having to meet additional requirements. Any credentialed teacher assigned to teach TK, or a combination class of kindergarten and TK, after July 1, 2015, will have until August 1, 2020, to meet the above-mentioned education requirements.” - CTC

I would like to find out more about the curriculum used in transitional kindergarten as a way of comparing it to the curriculum I use in my class.

As suggested in Research Strategies, I attempted searching using the EBSCO connection. I actually found a lot of interesting articles that I was hoping to read, but when I tried connecting to them and my local library, it would not let me sign in. I am going to call customer service on Monday to see if they can help me login, for future references as they are only open mon-fri).

Again this week, for some reason, I am still having a hard time finding information on my topic. When I used the Leatherby Libraries option, I was unable to find anything I could use. I searched “the difference between preschool and transitional kindergarten” several different ways, using preschool and transitional kindergarten by themselves, and even shortening them, such as kinder. I then searched teacher qualifications for both and found nothing. After reading Research Strategies  by William Badke, I took his advice and searched using google books. I was able to scroll through a lot of information until I finally found The Promise of Preschool: From Head Start to Universal Pre-Kindergarten by Elizabeth Rose.  I never thought my topic would give me so much trouble.

The book I did find was full of great information. I learned that “pre-kindergarten teachers are required to have a bachelors degree and teaching certification in order to teach pre-kindergarten” (pg. 202).  Though transitional teachers are required to have the same qualifications as elementary school teachers, they are not compensated the same, which results in a higher turnover.  Transitional teachers who teach through a k-12 school campus are more likely to be paid more than those who teach pre-kindergarten somewhere else.

Other things I found quite interesting were that preschools such as head start find it extremely important to involve parents and families, while pre-kindergarten classrooms (found in a K-8 environment) are less likely to involve families. In addition, play, which is valued in a preschool environment, is viewed as being dispensable in pre-kindergarten or transitional kindergarten.
I look forward to reading more and learning about the many other differences that exist between preschool and transitional kindergarten.

My research question is what is the difference between preschool and transitional kindergarten?

During this week’s research assignment I decided to do one of the searches on Transitional Kindergarten and one on Preschool.  I wanted to read more in depth about each, in order to understand the similarities and differences. I discovered that transitional kindergarten was never really created to take the place of preschool (which is what I originally thought). It was created to foster the needs for children who are not quite old enough for kindergarten but may be socially, emotionally, and/or cognitively ready. Transitional kindergarten provides children with a developmentally appropriate environment to assist them in reaching an even higher development, prior to entering kindergarten “ due to the increased academic pressures in kindergarten” (Curwood, Jen).

When reading the e-book Preschool Adequacy and Efficiency in California, I became aware of the many holes existing in the preschool system prior to transitional kindergarten. Some children were denied pre-k education based on their income, even if they needed it. “The pattern of gaps in achievement manifested in the early elementary grades is also evident in gaps in school-readiness measures when children first enter kindergarten” (pg. 123). This information was eye opening and gave me a better understanding as to why transitional kindergarten is important.
I am excited to learn more about the difference and similarities of preschool and kindergarten. Next week, I would like to research the curriculums found in both programs.

Links to this week’s research:
https://eds-b-ebscohost-com.libproxy.chapman.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzMwNDkxOV9fQU41?sid=a670b316-8bdf-4bc8-8f95-776dc644f83d@sessionmgr105&vid=0&format=EB&rid=1
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/rise-transitional-kindergarten

Week 1

Hello, My name is Misty Bennett. This is my second semester at Brandman University. I have an AS in child development and I am currently working on obtaining my Bachelors Degree in Liberal Studies. My future goal is to have the credentials I need to someday teach kindergarten.

I am a preschool teacher now, which I truly love. I enjoy going to work everyday and have a sincere passion for the child development field. I don't plan on teaching kindergarten for several years because I would miss preschool too much.

I would like to research the importance of preschool and how it contributes to a successful education. In addition, I would like to know the difference between preschool and transitional kindergarten, including curriculum and teacher's credentials.

I definitely would like to learn how to identify credible and non-credible information online. Technology and research are important tools, but knowing which ones are trustworthy is crucial.

Enjoy your week! Good luck in the class.

Misty Bennett

"Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning" - Robert John Meehan